Canada court waives C$1.13 bln deposit in Quebec smoking case

MONTREAL, July 23 (Reuters) - A Canadian appeal court ruled
on Thursday that three major tobacco companies will not have to
make a preliminary deposit of C$1.13 billion ($867.56 million)
as they appeal a case that awarded more than C$15 billion in
damages to Quebec smokers.

Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American
Tobacco Plc, JTI-Macdonald Corp, part of Japan Tobacco
Inc, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc - a subsidiary
of Philip Morris International - had originally been
ordered by a lower court judge to deposit the amount in trust
with their attorneys.